Blackened Roots
by EndlessDots
Summary: When Elaine stumbles upon a medallion, she begins to question where she really came from. Now, she's on the run, and is forced to meet the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow. The two couldn't be more different, but they soon come to realize that they can learn from each other. Will Elaine prove that her past is clean, or are her roots already blackened? JACK SPARROW/OC!
1. Chapter 1

**PART I**

Elaine drew the curtains to her room closed, turned down the oil lamp to a low setting, and climbed into bed. She grabbed her leather-bound journal from on top of her night table and unbuckled the front flap. Realizing she forgot to grab a pen to write with, she sighed and climbed back out of bed. She walked over to her white desk slowly. Elaine had done this a dozen times before and she knew exactly which floorboards to step on so they wouldn't creak and wake up the nanny. She wasn't supposed to be out of bed this late.

The oil lamp cast flickering shadows across the lilac walls of her room as Elaine kneeled at the drawer in her desk. She pulled it open slowly, careful not to make any noise but a slight scraping sound as the drawer slid out of the desk. She slid her hand in the drawer, feeling around for the pen she always used for her diary, but found the drawer to be completely empty. She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. The maids knew not to go through this drawer. It was the only private place Elaine had to store things in the house, and they were forbidden by her Nanny to clean her desk.

She pulled the drawer out a little more, cautiously taking the individual drawer in her cross-legged lap. It was completely empty. She ran her slender fingers down the insides of the drawer, searching for any holes the pen could have fallen through. Elaine lifted it up and shook it once near her ear, like a child would shake a present. Her eyes widened as she heard a metal _chink_ as something slid downwards. Her pen wasn't that big. Something else was inside the drawer.

Curiousity peaked now, Elaine lugged the heavy drawer to her oil lamp and set it atop her bed. From her kneeled angle on the floor, she saw the golden flames from the lamp dance across something engraved in the back panel on the drawer.

"P?" she wondered aloud, running her index finger over the etched letter. She turned the drawer around on her bed and knocked once against the back panel. It was hollow.

Determined now to open the drawer, she picked at the back panel with her fingernails until they were all chipped. Finally, the back panel opened. At first she saw nothing inside, but then she noticed something golden hidden in the shadows.

"A necklace?" she gasped in amazement. With shaking hands, Elaine pulled out a weighty gold necklace. She held it in her cupped hands and gaped down at it.

She held it by its golden chain up to the light.

"Not just a necklace," she muttered to herself.

Elaine turned over the circular golden emblem at the bottom of the chain, and was met with the design of a smiling skull.

"A medallion," she said, and stood up. Rushing over to her mirror now, she lifted and pinned her curly brown hair into a bun.

Elaine unclasped the chain and lifted the medallion up on her slender neck. She latched the chain on the back of her neck and watched as the golden medallion fell onto her collarbones. Elaine stood for a moment, fingering the medallion with light touches and watching as the smiling skull twinkled in her reflection. She smiled for the first time in a long time.

Suddenly, the door to her room flew open, and she was met with a rush of light from the hallway outside. She quickly turned around, expecting a robber or murderer, but instead was met with the face of her Nanny.

"Oh, Nanny!" Elaine cried, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be out of bed at these hours, but I found—"

It was then Elaine realized her Nanny's kind face was etched with worry.

"Nevermind that now! We don't have time! Pack your things into a trunk. Only bring things that you can't replace!" Nanny said, and then Elaine noticed the warning bell tolling from outside. It ringed three times, and then four, and then there was silence for a few seconds before it started again. Elaine knew the unexpected guests would arrive at some point in her life, living on the edge of a harbor town, but she didn't expect it to be tonight.

 _Pirates._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry I haven't posted chapter 2 yet! I've been super busy. As always, please leave reviews! Enjoy**

Elaine sprinted down the front steps of her house after her nanny, trying to keep a tight hold on her suitcase but also trying not to trip on her skirts. She froze when she got to the bottom, and took in the scene.

"No," she whispered, putting her hand over her mouth to silence her scream.

Every direction she looked there was chaos and fire. People screamed and cried out for loved ones. The rain poured down mercilessly, mixing with the shrieks and the sound of buildings collapsing.

"Come on, 'Laine!" her Nanny yelled from up the street. "We haven't got much time to get to the shelter!"

Elaine shook herself out of the gaze, and rushed out from under the safety of her porch covering and into the night. The sky churned black overhead. She didn't know if it was from the ash or the storm.

She wiped wet hair out of her eyes, and sloshed through puddles. People ran in every direction. Elaine couldn't see where she was going among them. Everything became one huge blur. The people merged together in a sea of perpetual darkness. Her head pounded with blood, reminding her she was still alive. She could feel every single one of her heartbeats.

Elaine stopped for a moment, realizing she had lost sight of her nanny.

"Nanny!" she tried to call out over the screams. "NANNY!"

She shrieked and stumbled over rubble as someone tugged on the bottom of her skirts. Elaine looked down to see a middle-aged woman trying to gather up silver pieces that had fallen out of a cloth and scattered on the ground around her.

"Please," the woman choked over the rain and her tears. "This is all I have."

Elaine looked in the direction where her nanny had ran, and then back to the middle-aged woman who looked at her with eyes full of helplessness. She bent down, and began picking up the pieces of silver as fast as she could. Elaine jumped as she heard the sound of glass breaking from behind her.

She whipped her head around quickly and saw that across the street, her neighbors' house had been broken into. A large jagged hole was left where the glass window used to be. Elaine knew those people, and they were kind. They didn't deserve this.

Her eyes widened as she saw something crawl out of the window from the inside. A man with greasy hair and dirty clothing threw a large sack over his shoulder that was bulging with items. He noticed her stare, and threw a large smile back at Elaine. He was missing several teeth.

Elaine screamed, and turned back to finish helping the woman, but she had already disappeared. She turned around to run back to find her nanny and get to the shelter, but instead looked down the barrel of a gun aimed straight for her.

A naval officer stood pointing the gun at her, and she recognized him immediately.

"Perry?" Elaine said, recognizing her old childhood playmate who ran off to join the Royal Navy a few years ago.

"Elaine," he spat, her name like acid to him. "Of all people."

"Perry, what is going on?" she cried out, shaking under the gun's gaze and the rain. Elaine saw Perry's eyes narrow and his jaw set.

"You are hereby under arrest from his Majesty's Royal Navy for the act of piracy."

Before she had time to process what he had said, she was being forced to the ground by a blow in the back from one of his men. Elaine cried out in pain as she felt her arms being twisted behind her and crossed. She felt sharp pain as rusty metal handcuffs cut into her wrists.

"Let me go!" she struggled as the two men lifted her off the ground and kicked her feet to get her to walk. They walked up the street awkwardly, because she was so much shorter than them.

"You're hurting me," she whispered, and the men loosened their grip a bit.

"Sorry, miss," one of them said. They continued their march up the hill, and as soon as she realized where her destination was she struggled against the handcuffs again. She could feel warm liquid trickle down her arm from her wrists. Two guards stood watch at the prison, their swords crossed above as Elaine and the navymen entered underneath them.

Perry opened the door to the prison with a key from his pocket, and threw open the door.

"I'll take her from here," he turned to the other two men, who nodded and left.

"Perry," she panted, exhausted from the night's events. "What is going on?"

He said nothing, but she noticed a vein throb on his temple as he lead her down a long passageway. She could hear moans from the cells along the walls. Finally, they stopped in front of a cell with a window.

"I'm not a pirate!" Elaine yelled, exasperated.

Perry looked at her eyes for a moment, a strange sadness in them. Then his gaze traveled to the medallion hanging around her neck. He grabbed the chain, forcing it to break, and thrust her into the cell.  
Elaine landed hard on the stone ground, and she cried out again in pain. She forced herself up on her knees, and felt a sting across her face as Perry threw the medallion at her.

Elaine heard a scream from outside the cell window, and then everything went black.


End file.
